When Stitchers Gather...

A fun day is guaranteed when the local hall is filled with stitchers from near and far...Kilmore Quilters Biennial Quilt-In was a fabulous way to spend a Saturday...

Greeted at the door with a lovely present of a pouch made by one of our members...

 I chose the orange version...

 

Door prizes for all...I opened mine to find...

a "book" of William Morris inspired wrapping papers

lots of lovely inspiration including a 12 page narrative

about William Morris and his works...

Retail therapy provided by the lovely Marg Low and her Little Things...

a small selection of her lovelies on offer made

their way home with me...

And did I stitch? Well surprisingly, yes!...I didn't just spend the day chatting with Andrea and Marina and friends from Sunbury Stitchers & Quilters that I haven't seen for ages...it was so good to catch up with friends I don't often cross paths with...OK so I saw Andrea Friday night but didn't get to chat much and today we got to have a really good catch up which was lovely...

the stitchery parts of three more Some Kind of Wonderful blocks can be ticked off as done...I am admitting that I didn't do all the stitchery on the three blocks at the Quilt-In as they had all been started, two were almost finished and one was only just started so I'm counting the day as a great success and ticking off the three...

I've four more fully appliqued blocks left to embroider, a couple that are partly appliqued and the few I found that I hadn't even back basted yet *sigh*.  I really thought I'd done all the applique except for one particular block and was most disappointed to find the stitching faeries had in fact fallen down on the job and left some at the tracing of design point...it's so hard to get good help!!

Happy Stitching...

Come One, Come All...

This coming Saturday - 13th October - is Kilmore Quilters Biennial Quilt-In...and all are welcome to come and play...so if you are looking for a stitchy day out...

Kilmore Quilters Biennial Quilt-In

Saturday 13th October 2012

10:00 am to 4:00pm

Kilmore Memorial Hall

Sydney Street

(that's the Northern Highway)

Kilmore Victoria 3764

Guest speaker: Lynette Nillaweera, Yarra Ranges Museum
Retail Therapy: Marg Lowe "Little Things"

$10.00 entry at the door includes

morning and afternoon tea, door prizes

All proceeds to Cancer Council Victoria

This year we lost two members to "C" - there

will be a display in their honour

 Also on display will be items created by

members for this year's challege 

"10"

BYO:

Hand Sewing

Mug

Lunch

(or you can buy your lunch from the cafe across the road
or one of the bakeries easily enough)

Any easy questions on stuff like driving directions or where to park feel free to ask...harder questions like what to bring to sew or have for lunch I can't help you with, those are questions I have enough trouble answering for myself!!!

Come on, you know you want to! 

Cushion Cover Swapping...

I joined in the Quilted Hugs Cushion Swap to make and swap a cushion cover...easy to send, no insert required!...I've been waiting for two things to happen before putting up this post...(1) hearing from my swappee that her parcel had arrived and (2) getting to a shop to buy a square cushion insert for the cover I received, after discovering my 17" insert is actually slightly rectangular at 17" x 16" and really didn't work at all for the lovely cover I received.

It seems my envelope is on a slow boat to where it has to get across the oceans as my swappee is international and as I did get to the shop for the insert I'm going to show anyway...

So...Part 1: Outgoing...

We had to nominate lounge, bedroom or outdoor and our preferred colours...my swapee, Geri, requested lounge, green, spring flowers.  Immediately I knew I wanted to use this fabric...

and along with that fabric visions of daffodils were dancing in my head...the fabric has no yellow in it...at all...not a speck...no matter how hard I tried I knew I wasn't going to be able to reconcile yellow daffodils and my fabric choice and the fabric won...time to move on to a flower that has colour choices including pinks...of course, tulips!...and finding this block meant I got to play with a few different greens as well...

I also sent a little mug rug...

Surprise!!...hexies!  I found this green springlike scrap in my scrap bucket and I wish I had more but there was just enough to make one 1" hexie flower...goodness knows where it came from, probably a rescued scrap from a friend or classmate that was destined for the bin...isn't it a fun fabric...

Part 2:  Incoming...

So what did I find in my mailbox?  I nominated lounge, blue and yellow and received this lovely cushion cover from Jan...

Jan also popped in a matching mug rug...for co-ordinated relaxing with a cuppa while reclining on my new cushion...

There was (important word in this sentence "was") a coffee bag and chocolate but they didn't survive until the photo shoot - he he.  Thank you so much Jan I really like what you made for me.  Did I mention that star and compass blocks are among my favourites!

And thank you to Sue for hosting this swap.  If you pop over to visit Sue she has pictures of all the swapped covers.

Happy Stitching...

TQWNICR....

Friday the calendar told me it was the day to pack a stitchy bag and wander up to Castlemaine for our regular(ish) 6-12 gathering...yay!...well I had one of "those" Fridays and there wasn't a whole lot of time to pack my stitchy stuff before my ride arrived - usually I drive, out of choice, but my co-pilot offered and I was happy to accept on this occasion to just sit and be the passenger. Knowing that said co-pilot is very prompt and not waiting to keep her waiting I abandoned my usual dithering about what to take and quickly packed the projects that were already out on the table...the hexie quilt top and the appliqued but not yet embroidered Some Kind of Wonderful blocks...both hand stitching, I'm not keen on carting my machine around...

Well...are you sitting down...this is rather amazing...after all this is a Summer School quilt...from this year!..tah dah!...the top is a done deal...

I had the two side borders left to stitch on and I was convinced I'd do the seam to extend one border piece, stitch that on, get bored and move on to the stitchery...but no...I finished the first side and moved straight on to the second...finishing right on pack up time...I didn't even wander the shop drooling over the new fabrics I was so keen to get the second border finished!

It looks a bit "wavy" in the photo but that is just because I had to hang it from the architrave to get the picture. So there we have it, TQWNICR (the quilt whose name I can't remember) is a finished top...yay!...

Happy Stitching...

SKoW Progress...

SKoW progress...there has been some...the stitchery on four blocks yesterday afternoon/evening...and two more today at craft group...

If I could draw then the umbrella block would be Gene Kelly swinging around a lamp post in the rain but as I can't I had to stick with Anni's version of Singing in the Rain...the daisy is appropriate being Spring, well in theory, seriously it's 1 October why is it cold enough to need the heater on!...the choice of hot cuppas doesn't go astray in this crazy weather...I've now done the stitchery on about half of the blocks I've finished the applique on...which one to choose next?...

Happy Stitching...

Two More For SKoW...

Stitchery parts stitched on two more Some Kind of Wonderful blocks at sewing group yesterday afternoon...

 

 I admit I chose the ice-cream block to do first up yesterday because it only had the one word and so was quick to stitch...

 There is actually a fair bit on this one, not showing up well in the photo but there is detail stitched onto the jeans applique...

The stitchery on another one has been started....what can it be?  you'll have to wait and see...(yes Chooky there will be a SAL post now I've taken the photos, soon, I'll do it after tea).

And I finished the cushion cover for the Quilted Hugs Cushion Swap this afternoon too...that can go in the mail tomorrow to....?????....sshhhh it's a secret!....

Happy Stitching...

Heathcote Happening...

This weekend was Monday craft group's 2nd Annual Retreat...we returned to last year's venue, Heathcote Country Lodge, where we spent Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon stitching with brief interruptions for absolutely scrummy food cooked by our lovely hostess with the mostess Toni...next year's booking has been made!...I took four long term projects with me and worked a little on each one...

The quilt whose name I can't remember...

inner borders finished...

Some Kind of Wonderful...

 

the stitchery done on two blocks...

 Bumb'le Bee...

progress piecing triangles in outer snowball borders...

Lullaby...

stitched down an inner row of triangles and stitched together one of the 1/4" hexie flowers and appliqued that on.

Thanks to B, J, J, L, M-A, W, J, V, M, K & A for a fabulous weekend...looking forward to next year already...

Happy Stitching...